Intuit QuickBooks awards $10,000 to Lee’s Flower and Card Shop

Lee’s Flower and Card Shop Inc., a Black-women-owned florist, has been awarded $10,000 from Intuit QuickBooks on behalf of its Small Business Council. 

The grant was bestowed on Good Morning America 3, where Nic Cober, founder of The BOW Collective, and Stacie Lee Banks, president and co-owner of the floral shop, were featured. Banks is a member of The BOW Collective, an organization and sisterhood of the nation’s top one percent of small business owners. 

The grant will be utilized for staffing and employment development.

Lee’s Flower and Card Shop Inc. was founded in 1945, by Banks’ grandparents, William and Winnifred Lee during the height of the Jim Crow era, and has thrived since, passing down to three generations. Today, Banks, alongside her sister and co-owner, Kristie Lee Jones, struggle to find skilled florists which limits time off for the co-owners.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this grant,” said Banks. “This gift will allow us to expand our resources and pour into our current and future employees with the benefits that they deserve.” 

Intuit Inc. is a business software company known for products that include Intuit TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp.

“Small businesses are the superheroes of America,” Cober said. “99.9% of all jobs are created by small businesses. We need capital, clients and community. We want her business to go through the 5th and 6th generation.”

A staple of the U Street corridor since 1945, Lee’s Flower and Card Shop only uses the freshest flowers to create stunning floral arrangements in traditional and contemporary styles, with a highly skilled floral design team and a professional, caring staff to serve everyone.